Calling former President Donald Trump’s flagship tax and expenditure package “a disgusting abomination” and attacking legislators who backed it, tech mogul Elon Musk launched a fierce attack on it.
Including massive tax cuts, more military spending, and a large rise in government borrowing, the budget bill—core to Trump’s second term plan—is key. Last month it passed the House of Representatives, evoking both support and debate.
Musk wrote on X (once Twitter), marking his strongest public condemnation of Trump to date: “Shame on those who voted for it.” Musk had only called the measure ” disappointing” up until now, notwithstanding his earlier role in influencing elements of the government’s financial policy.
Musk’s comments came following his surprise exit from the Trump administration on May 31 after 129 days serving on a cost-cutting panel informally known as “Doge.” Though Trump commended Musk upon his departure—saying the billionaire would “always be with us, helping all the way”—the remarks point to a growing rift between the two powerful people.
Promoting the bill’s economic stimuli potential, Trump has called it the “big beautiful bill.” However, fiscal experts anticipate the package will raise the federal deficit by about $600 billion next fiscal year, which will aggravate worries about long-run economic sustainability.
Musk’s criticism emphasizes the increasing discomfort some corporate leaders and fiscal conservatives have regarding the course of American economic policy. Frequently straddling the line between insider influence and open independence, the South African-born businessman’s most recent comments indicate he is increasingly leaning towards the latter.
In a number of posts on X , Musk said that the “outrageous, pork-filled” spending bill will “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt”.
White House and Republicans Fire Back After Musk Denounces Trump’s Budget Plan
Following Elon Musk’s blistering condemnation of Donald Trump’s signature budget bill, the political firestorm that started Tuesday intensified as prominent Republican leaders and the White House retaliated, supporting the broad tax and expenditure package and minimizing the tech mogul’s objections. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk’s criticism, saying,
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill.” She termed it “one big, beautiful bill” and reiterated Trump’s commitment to it. Currently under Senate discussion, the measure provides for an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, a significant rise in defense spending, and funding to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. It also raises the debt ceiling to a disputed $4 trillion, a move that has generated strong criticism from fiscal conservatives. Senate Republicans, who hold a slim majority, are now fighting growing internal divisions. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has promised to oppose the measure if it includes a debt limit increase, warning, “The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this.” Trump responded with characteristic force on social media, calling Paul’s stance “crazy” and accusing him of having “very little understanding of the bill,” adding that “the people of Kentucky can’t stand him.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismissed Musk’s criticisms, saying the party intends to “proceed full speed ahead” and characterized differences within the GOP as part of the legislative process. “We have an agenda everybody campaigned on, most notably the president,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who spearheaded the bill through the lower chamber, said Musk is “terribly wrong” about its impact. Johnson spoke to Musk for twenty minutes about the bill on Monday, especially discussing the phasing down of electric vehicle tax credits—an issue potentially affecting Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company. “I deeply regret he’s made this mistake,” Johnson said. Sources told Axios that Musk was also irritated by the FAA’s decision not to accept a proposal to move U.S. air traffic control activities onto his Starlink satellite network. Concerns of technology viability and conflicts of interest evidently resulted in the refusal of the idea.
Some Democrats welcomed Musk’s about-face. Seizing the moment, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer remarked, “Even Elon Musk, who’s been part of the entire process and is one of Trump’s buddies, said the bill is bad. We can see how awful this bill is. Trump is still intent on getting the bill passed by July 4 despite the criticism, designating it a major pillar of his second-term legislative agenda. Trump is also advocating a $9.4 billion rollback in present spending—based on suggestions from “Doge,” Musk’s ex-cost-cutting team—to placate budget hawks. Foreign aid, USAID, and public broadcasters like NPR and PBS would be the main focus of the cuts. Musk, who gave over $250 million to Trump’s campaign in 2024, has still to state whether this public split will have an effect on his future contributions.
